Tense standoff with minister

The City of Calgary cracked down on a street church minister Sunday, but bylaw officers backed off plans to seize his public ad¬dress equipment for fear of sparking a backlash among the minister’s supporters.

A judge has banned the preacher from using amplifiers to spread his message due to noise complaints from area businesses.

The tension in Triangle Park -where Art Pawlowski sets up his sermons three times a week rose Sunday after bylaw officers gave Pawlowski the fourth ticket of the day. That ticket was for having his sound system and amplifiers on the sidewalk. It was after that ticket that Pawlowski took the microphone and addressed the bylaw and police officers who were in the park.

"Why don’t you shoot us to¬day?" he said. "I would encourage you officers to start bringing your guns and start shooting Christians today." A few people in the park tried to follow two bylaw officers, but were restrained by some of Pawlowski’s supporters.

The scene brought an end to an hour of confrontation and preaching that, for some of those waiting in line for bread, pop, yogurt and muffins, ended up being more spectacle than salvation.